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User blog:Cfp3157/Dunkirk Review: A Misstep in the Right Direction
World War II- check. Accomplished director- check. A passion project- check. An ensemble of old and new faces- check. In what should be the year's first big Oscar contender, Christopher Nolan fails to deliver what should have been his greatest triumph. All of the pieces are there- Tom Hardy and Mark Rylance are two of England's most accomplished modern actors, while his technical favorites are all delivering fine work. However, Nolan simply can't seem to take the people given to him and assemble it into a coherent, effective story. The Cast It's difficult to describe the cast, because Nolan has left them without much character to engage with. Several players of note are present- Kenneth Branagh does his best to infuse his Commander Bolton with stoicism and charisma, doing as good a job as he can with the paper thin character he's given. The same applies to Tom Hardy as Farrier, a Royal Air Force pilot- fans have seen him in a similar situation with Locke back in 2014, but Hardy's left without enough dialogue or story to truly elevate the role as he most certainly can. Mark Rylance is good in his role, but suffers like the other two veterans- he's left without enough material to be memorable or stretch his abilities as an actor. Surprisingly, the standout of the cast is the former One Direction singer and teen icon Harry Styles. Unlike his peers, who've been left saddled with almost nonspeaking roles that force them to move through action, Styles' Alex gets to soar because he's given a personality. Styles shows incredible promise in this debut role, letting the character's firebrand anger and cynicism shine through in a way that is lacking with the rest of the cast. Second place for best in show is Cillian Murphy- as the shell-shocked Eobard, Murphy gets to stretch himself, and actually benefits from the more physical aspect of the film. His lack of dialogue works perfectly with Murphy's thousand-yard stare, letting his eyes do most of the talking in the best way. Ultimately, all of the cast did fine work with what they were given, and one can't expect much else. Score: 3.5 out of 5 The Story Christopher Nolan has always needed to learn the lesson "Show, don't tell", and he seems to have learned it in the wrong way. Rather than let his characters show theme through action or dialogue, he simply removes all of that from the equation and lets the story wander aimlessly. It doesn't help most of his characters, in sharp contrast to his entire career, are mostly paper thin without any discernible motivation or desires. The story is split into three divisions; the land, which focuses on British Private Tommy's efforts to evacuate Dunkirk beach under the command of Commander Bolton; the sea, where Mr. Dawson (no, he doesn't have a first name), his son, and family friend travel across the English channel to help evacuate soldiers; and the air, where pilot Farrier gets into a skirmish. It's several decent stories all jumbled into one. If there's a saving grace of the screen, it's the story itself. The plot is engaging, and fascinating to watch unfold. In addition, it's obvious that Nolan cares about the story he's telling- he ultimately plants the seeds of respect and honor for those in the armed forces. He's also learned not to explain everything, and has grown to respect his audience- he took a whiplash turn and expected viewers to know everything by default. Score: 2.5 out of 5 The Direction Perhaps the film's greatest saving grace is Nolan's work on set as director, and its technical merits. He lets his enthusiasm and passion for the film seep into every frame, almost overbearingly sometimes. In addition, the visual effects bring Spitfire planes and minesweeper destroyers to life in the best way, truly showing off the scale of the battle itself, as does good cinematography from Hoyte van Hoytema. Composed with beautiful music by Nolan favorite Hans Zimmer, the sheer majesty and pounding of it seems overbearing at times. Although the music sounds beautiful, it overwhelms and remains at a constant high throughout the film, undercutting the scenes where it should be most effective and powerful. It works, but barely. The biggest flaw technically is far and away the editing job by Lee Smith. Despite astounding efforts like Inception and The Dark Knight Rises, Smith assembles the piece with Nolan in an amateurish and uncontrolled way. Scenes and stories are mashed together randomly and seemingly without order- the idea to structure each story into different timeframes certainly doesn't help it against the dizzying job done by Smith. Score: 3.5 out of 5 Verdict Dunkirk is hardly a bad film- the cast does a decent job, while the technical merits are certainly worth being sung about. Unfortunately, Nolan has let his skills as a writer take over himself, preventing him from creating a coherent story worth telling. He tries, and that effort is certainly admirable, but viewers simply aren't drawn in and engaged as they should be. Dry, colorless, and tinted with the echoes of a far superior film than the one given, Dunkirk can't help but feel like it tried to bite off more than it could chew. Overall Score: 63% Category:Blog posts Category:Reviews Category:2017 Reviews